Let the Little Children Come
Saanvi* is a Haggai leader and pastor in India. She wears many hats in her pastoral role, from leading worship and preaching to the congregation to equipping others to lead prayer groups and host small groups in the villages nearby. She is passionate about meeting with other female pastors and empowering women in other churches. Individualizing and meeting groups where they are is a gift, and when that process results in a roomful of children—that is where her heart really starts to show.
“God does many miracles in everyone’s life; by that, they stand firm on faith,” Saanvi says. “I like to divide the people I meet into sections like children, teenagers, youth girls, and seniors, and approach them as a group. I personally spend time with them; talking, praying, and leading them to Christ.”
Saanvi believes that being able to reach children at a young age is the best way to bring unity in faith to families — a huge hurdle for sharing the Gospel in India. She regularly recruits and equips teachers for service in children’s ministry, leads a counseling program in local schools, conducts a virtual youth girl’s fellowship group every week, and has used her knowledge, experience, and passion to develop an annual youth experience and children’s camp every year with her church.
This summer, her four-day counseling session reached 1,500 teenage girls. They talked about the challenges students face today, and Saanvi invited anyone to come and speak to her one-on-one afterward.
“Many girls tearfully shared their problems with me. All of them were non-Christians. I counseled them and prayed. And I keep in touch with those who want to know more about Jesus. They believe Jesus is in their hearts, but their families do not allow them to come to church, so we talk over the phone. The Lord helped me to share the Gospel with these girls, and I helped lead 25 students to commit their life to follow Christ.”
Saanvi spent the last year equipping 25 leaders in her church to teach the story of Jesus’ birth with a Christmas program for children. These leaders replicate the program in 24 other communities nearby, reaching nearly 400 non-Christian children with the Christmas story. With those leaders and more, she organized a one-week children’s camp in the spring. Nearly 200 children attended the camp, a Vacation Bible School-style week of songs, dance, fellowship, memory verses, Bible stories, and more. The group was a mix of church members and children who had never heard the Gospel before. Many of those children committed their lives to Christ, as a result, and every single one was smiling from ear to ear every day.
“The Virtual Haggai Leader Experience has increased my thirst for evangelistic ministry among young generations and equipping leaders,” she says.
On average, a Haggai leader equips 251 leaders and shares the Gospel with 802 non-Christians. Since her equipping one year ago (September 2021), God has helped Saanvi already equip 150 leaders and share the Gospel with 3,000 people.
*Name changed to protect privacy. Written by Jennifer Colosimo.
Let the Little Children Come
Saanvi* is a Haggai leader and pastor in India. She wears many hats in her pastoral role, from leading worship and preaching to the congregation to equipping others to lead prayer groups and host small groups in the villages nearby. She is passionate about meeting with other female pastors and empowering women in other churches. Individualizing and meeting groups where they are is a gift, and when that process results in a roomful of children—that is where her heart really starts to show.
“God does many miracles in everyone’s life; by that, they stand firm on faith,” Saanvi says. “I like to divide the people I meet into sections like children, teenagers, youth girls, and seniors, and approach them as a group. I personally spend time with them; talking, praying, and leading them to Christ.”
Saanvi believes that being able to reach children at a young age is the best way to bring unity in faith to families — a huge hurdle for sharing the Gospel in India. She regularly recruits and equips teachers for service in children’s ministry, leads a counseling program in local schools, conducts a virtual youth girl’s fellowship group every week, and has used her knowledge, experience, and passion to develop an annual youth experience and children’s camp every year with her church.
This summer, her four-day counseling session reached 1,500 teenage girls. They talked about the challenges students face today, and Saanvi invited anyone to come and speak to her one-on-one afterward.
“Many girls tearfully shared their problems with me. All of them were non-Christians. I counseled them and prayed. And I keep in touch with those who want to know more about Jesus. They believe Jesus is in their hearts, but their families do not allow them to come to church, so we talk over the phone. The Lord helped me to share the Gospel with these girls, and I helped lead 25 students to commit their life to follow Christ.”
Saanvi spent the last year equipping 25 leaders in her church to teach the story of Jesus’ birth with a Christmas program for children. These leaders replicate the program in 24 other communities nearby, reaching nearly 400 non-Christian children with the Christmas story. With those leaders and more, she organized a one-week children’s camp in the spring. Nearly 200 children attended the camp, a Vacation Bible School-style week of songs, dance, fellowship, memory verses, Bible stories, and more. The group was a mix of church members and children who had never heard the Gospel before. Many of those children committed their lives to Christ, as a result, and every single one was smiling from ear to ear every day.
“The Virtual Haggai Leader Experience has increased my thirst for evangelistic ministry among young generations and equipping leaders,” she says.
On average, a Haggai leader equips 251 leaders and shares the Gospel with 802 non-Christians. Since her equipping one year ago (September 2021), God has helped Saanvi already equip 150 leaders and share the Gospel with 3,000 people.
*Name changed to protect privacy. Written by Jennifer Colosimo.
Let the Little Children Come
Saanvi* is a Haggai leader and pastor in India. She wears many hats in her pastoral role, from leading worship and preaching to the congregation to equipping others to lead prayer groups and host small groups in the villages nearby. She is passionate about meeting with other female pastors and empowering women in other churches. Individualizing and meeting groups where they are is a gift, and when that process results in a roomful of children—that is where her heart really starts to show.
“God does many miracles in everyone’s life; by that, they stand firm on faith,” Saanvi says. “I like to divide the people I meet into sections like children, teenagers, youth girls, and seniors, and approach them as a group. I personally spend time with them; talking, praying, and leading them to Christ.”
Saanvi believes that being able to reach children at a young age is the best way to bring unity in faith to families — a huge hurdle for sharing the Gospel in India. She regularly recruits and equips teachers for service in children’s ministry, leads a counseling program in local schools, conducts a virtual youth girl’s fellowship group every week, and has used her knowledge, experience, and passion to develop an annual youth experience and children’s camp every year with her church.
This summer, her four-day counseling session reached 1,500 teenage girls. They talked about the challenges students face today, and Saanvi invited anyone to come and speak to her one-on-one afterward.
“Many girls tearfully shared their problems with me. All of them were non-Christians. I counseled them and prayed. And I keep in touch with those who want to know more about Jesus. They believe Jesus is in their hearts, but their families do not allow them to come to church, so we talk over the phone. The Lord helped me to share the Gospel with these girls, and I helped lead 25 students to commit their life to follow Christ.”
Saanvi spent the last year equipping 25 leaders in her church to teach the story of Jesus’ birth with a Christmas program for children. These leaders replicate the program in 24 other communities nearby, reaching nearly 400 non-Christian children with the Christmas story. With those leaders and more, she organized a one-week children’s camp in the spring. Nearly 200 children attended the camp, a Vacation Bible School-style week of songs, dance, fellowship, memory verses, Bible stories, and more. The group was a mix of church members and children who had never heard the Gospel before. Many of those children committed their lives to Christ, as a result, and every single one was smiling from ear to ear every day.
“The Virtual Haggai Leader Experience has increased my thirst for evangelistic ministry among young generations and equipping leaders,” she says.
On average, a Haggai leader equips 251 leaders and shares the Gospel with 802 non-Christians. Since her equipping one year ago (September 2021), God has helped Saanvi already equip 150 leaders and share the Gospel with 3,000 people.
*Name changed to protect privacy. Written by Jennifer Colosimo.
